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The old Ferry Bridge and a Civil War crossing of the Aire in Sept 1644

This old bridge has been a pinch-point in both war and peace. It was (or marks) the site of an important action during the Civil War in the north. A royalist soldier, Colonel Sir John Mayney of Linton, with a brigade (about four regiments of cavalry and one of foot) made a forced march from Furness in Lancashire across the Pennines to relieve SD9952 : Skipton Castle and SE4622 : Pontefract Castle ruins which were being attacked by Parliamentary (Roundhead) troops.
He covered the hundred miles in five days, partly by night, but also taking with him a large herd of cattle to provide the besieged garrisons with meat on the hoof. The speed and stealth of his approach surprised the Roundheads who began to withdraw (they may also have taken Mayney’s cattle for Prince Rupert’s cavalry!). The Roundheads just managed to cross the Aire and secure Ferry Bridge behind them with a turnpike. But, after a sharp action, the Cavaliers succeeded in breaking it open, and soundly defeated their enemy in front of Brotherton, taking fifty prisoners and chasing the remnants the six miles to Sherburn SE9576. Had Mayney’s advance over the Aire, which threatened the Roundhead position at York, been reinforced, it could have changed the course of the war. But Mayney himself had been severely wounded during the persuit and Prince Rupert’s army was already marching south, so the opportunity was missed. For more on Mayney’s career see TQ7550 : Linton Place and its history.